Comparison
DisplayShift is a new menu bar app for people who dock a MacBook. When a display connects, a picker lists your open windows and you tick which ones move. SnapState solves a nearby problem from the other end: you save a named workspace once, and it puts every window, Space, full screen app and browser tab back, after sleep, a monitor change or a restart.
Verdict: both are good at putting windows back after you dock or wake. Pick DisplayShift if you want to choose window by window or tile apps. Pick SnapState if you also want every browser tab back, or you use two or three Macs, since one $9.99 license covers three.
From its site: a picker drops out of the notch (or under the menu bar) when a monitor or AirPlay display connects, with full screen apps and other desktops listed. It moves full screen apps behind a curtain instead of the usual flashing, remembers a layout per screen setup, puts windows back after sleep or a dock hiccup with an Undo, restores windows to their desktops and rebuilds Split View pairs, keeps your monitor arrangement, has rules per app, and tiles up to four apps.
Price and requirements, as listed: 7 days free, then $6.99 once for 1 Mac, or $1.49 a month or $4.99 a year. Lifetime keys for 3 Macs are $16.78. It needs macOS 14 or later, runs on Apple Silicon and Intel, and is notarized. It is a young app, with its first release on September 14, 2026 and frequent updates.
SnapState saves the browser too. A Full restore relaunches the saved apps and reopens all open tabs in Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc and Chromium. DisplayShift's site talks about opening a missing app and the right Chrome profile, not about reopening tabs.
One click, the whole workspace back. The 40 second demo shows a workspace saved from the SnapState menu bar and restored: apps relaunch and windows go back to their saved displays, positions and sizes.
You restore from the menu bar, with a Control-Command-1 to 6 shortcut, or automatically on wake, when a monitor connects or disconnects, or when a matching display layout appears. See also why Mac windows move after sleep and restoring windows after unplugging a monitor.
| SnapState | DisplayShift | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Save and restore named workspaces | Pick which windows move when a display connects |
| Puts windows back after sleep | Yes | Yes (its site) |
| Restores on monitor connect | Yes, automatic | Yes, picker or automatic |
| Apps back on their Spaces | Yes | Yes, plus Split View pairs |
| Full screen windows | Yes | Yes |
| Reopens all browser tabs | Yes | Not listed |
| Relaunches closed apps | Yes | Yes, asks first |
| Window picker on plug-in | No | Yes |
| Tiling | No | Up to four apps |
| Price | $9.99 one-time, 3 Macs | $6.99 one-time for 1 Mac, $16.78 for 3 Macs, or $4.99 a year |
| Minimum macOS | 15.7 | 14 |
For more options, see the best Mac workspace managers.
SnapState 2.7.2 costs $9.99 once, with a license for up to three Macs and a 14-day refund. It needs macOS 15.7 or later and runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel. It needs Accessibility permission to move windows, and Automation permission if you want browser tabs reopened. Workspace data stays on your Mac. Workspaces saved in older versions need one re-save to pick up Spaces and full screen. See SnapState.
SnapState is not a tiling or snapping tool and has no per-window picker when you plug in. It does not save browser tab groups, history or form data, Firefox is not supported, and it does not change the display arrangement, main display, menu bar or Dock. It needs macOS 15.7, so on macOS 14 DisplayShift is the one that runs.
It is a menu bar app that opens a window picker when a monitor connects, so you tick which windows move. Its site also lists saved layouts per screen setup, putting windows back after sleep, restoring desktops and Split View pairs, tiling up to four apps and AirPlay displays.
Its site lists a 7-day free trial, then $6.99 once for 1 Mac, or $1.49 a month or $4.99 a year. Lifetime keys for 2, 3 or 5 Macs are $12.58, $16.78 and $24.47, before tax.
If you want your browser tabs back too, or you use more than one Mac. SnapState reopens every open tab in Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc and Chromium, and one $9.99 license covers up to three Macs.
If you want to choose window by window what moves when you plug in, tile apps side by side, or need macOS 14. SnapState does not do those.
$9.99 once, for up to three Macs, with a 14-day refund. It needs macOS 15.7 or later.